Feeding Our Neighbors Coalition Hosts Legislative Briefing on Restoring Basic Benefits for Immigrant Households on May 2nd at the Massachusetts State House
Media Contact:
Christine Dunn, Seven Letter
christine@sevenletter.com
617.646.1044
Boston (April 26,2023) – Members of the media and public are invited to attend a legislative briefing event on Tuesday, May 2, 2023 to raise awareness to the plight of the immigrant community who lack access to basic food assistance and other key benefits. This event will highlight the need for both legislation and funding to restore basic food and cash assistance benefits for legally present immigrants, and will include presentations from medical professionals and organizations working with immigrant families. It will also include resources for constituent services staff working with immigrant families.
Take Action to Support an Anti-Poverty State Budget
Our state budget is a representation of our values – what is funded is the foundation of our state’s future, and the state only funds what we fight for.
The budget process can be intimidating to even the most seasoned of observers, which is why every year MLRI advocates analyze the Gubernatorial, House, and Senate budget proposals to see how they will impact low-income residents of the Commonwealth.
This analysis forms the basis of our advocacy. We support parts of the budget that benefit low-income people and we promote amendments that would make the budget a stronger tool for fighting poverty.
Nationwide Advocacy on Behalf of Special Immigrant Juveniles
Special Immigrant Juveniles (SIJs) are abused, abandoned and neglected young people who may qualify for lawful permanent residence (known as “green card” status) under federal laws created to protect this vulnerable population. While some SIJs are eligible to apply for permanent residence immediately, over 45,000 Special Immigrant Juveniles from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras are trapped in a visa “backlog” and must wait years for one of the numerically limited slots to become available.
Massachusetts Law Reform Institute and Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless Celebrate Inclusion of Eviction Protections in the House Ways and Means Budget and Call for Robust Rental Assistance
For Immediate Release:
Contact: Christine Dunn
christine@sevenletter.com | 617.646.1044
Eviction protections expired March 31st, and the failure to restore would increase avoidable evictions, cause loss of housing and homelessness, and reduce rental assistance payments to landlords.
Boston, MA (April 14, 2023)— Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI) and Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless (MCH) are praising language in the recently released House Ways and Means fiscal year 2024 state budget to reinstate and make permanent critical eviction protections known as “Chapter 257”. These protections would guarantee that tenants facing eviction are granted a case continuance if they have a pending emergency rental assistance application, ensuring that time is provided for tenants and landlords to gain access to critical funding and avoid unnecessary evictions.